Cable winding means for loading skips



May 16, 1933. J BUSHNELL AL 1,908,953

CABLE WINDING MEANS FOR LOADING SKIPS Filed July 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 16, 1933- J. E. BUSHNELL ET AL CABLE WINDING MEANS FOR LOADING SKIPS Patented May 16,- 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES E. BUSHNELL, or NORTH PLAINEIELD, AND GEORGE w. cRoN OF EA T ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS T0 RAnsoME CONCRETE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, A coaronerron OF NEW JERSEY CABLE WINDING MEANS FOR LOADING SKIES Application filed July 9,

The improvements relate primarily to the means for raising and lowering the charging hopper or skip of concrete mixlng machines,

and more particularly to the cable winding drums and their supports and accessories, and have for their objects, among others, the provision of means whereby the winding drums at the top of the mixer frame may be readily and safely raised and lowered with their power cable wheel, to permit the machine to pass under low bridges or other overhead structure, and for other purposes. 7 Their use is. principally in connection with concrete paving machines, in which the mixer drum with its frame, loading skip and distributing apparatusare usually all mounted on a truck and haveconsiderable height, theskip cable winding drums and wheel being located at t'hetop of the mixer frame so as to give a convenient and efficient application of the power applied to the cables for raising the loaded skip and ofthe braking means applied thereto in the operation of lowering the skip. It is possible to construct the mixer frame, mixer and other parts so that they will pass under ordinary bridges or other overhead obstacles, but the winding drums and wheel at the top, extending. above the'frame are sometimes too high to pass under. Therefore it has been found necessary to so mount them that they may be lowered when necessary. It is also advisable tolower these parts for shipping and storing the apparatus.

' The obvious expedient of mount-ing the drums on a pivoted frame -.which may be lowered has been resorted to and-practiced for manyyears, and as this frame must have a base of some width with spaced points of support it has been found advisable to pivot the frame below the top of the mixer frame,

so that when-it is ;turned down it will be below the topof the mixer frame, and also so that the drums and wheel may be lowered to that level without reversing'their frame but merely by turning it through an arc of approximately ninety degrees. p 1

But the workof lowering and raising the heavydrums, wheel and frame and at the {same timejtaking care of the cables connecting the*dr un'1s and skip and the wheel and the r 1930. semi No. 468,753.

power winding drum on the truck is not an easy 0m and is likely to result in damage to the apparatus and the men engagedin it, or both, unless well provided for and'mechamcally safeguarded. various means to this end have been devised, but so far as we are aware more or less inefiective application of power or braking force in the operation is still an obstacle to a satisfactory performance of the operation.

It is for the purpose of overcoming these and other obstacles and objections that the present improvements are designed. Other objectsand advantages will appear to those skilled in the art, to whom the present description is addressed. V

In the drawings Figure 1 is a general side view of an apparatus constituting an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a simi-larview of a modification or alternate application thereof.

In the said drawings, 1 represents the base or fioor of the truck, 2 an upright .of the mixer frame and 8 a top horizontal thereof. A diagonal brace rod is showirat 4, and these 7 members are duplicated on opposite sides of the mixer frame, with across channel-bar as indicated at connecting the horizontalsand verticals at the top front. A motor 6, orother source of power is mounted on thebase or body 1 and has its power shaft 7 journalediin the upright frame at 8, and on this shaft thewinding drum 9 and'its brake and clutch drums l0 and 11 are mounted.

The power winding drum 9 is shown as having a constantly increasing and decreasing diameter from end to end, as shown in Patent'No. 1,545,965 of Julyll, 1925, to which reference may be had for details of the present upper winding drums and beveled winding wheel construction. f The power drum 9 by the motor to raise the skip 27, the

drum and the upper winding drum and wheel may, however, be varied in construction and arrangement without affecting the character of the present improvements.

Keyed to the rock shaft 18, which is mounted in brackets 14 supported on diagonals 4 is a wheel sector 15, and the L arms or brackets 16, which support and carry the winding wheel 17 with spiral groove and the winding drums 19 for theskip cable, are also keyed to this shaft. The winding wheel 17 which is called a bull wheel, is keyed to a shaft 18 mounted in the upper ends of the swinging brackets 16, and the winding drums for the skip cable are also keyed on this shaft. The upper end of the bracket 16 and the said winding drums do not appear in the two views the arms and the wheels and drums carried thereby are released. In order to check the down swing of the arms 16 and support them properly and in the desired position, lugs 23 are provided on each arm, blocks 24- on the diagonals 4.

The power cable 25 is wound on the power lifting power being transmitted through the winding drums 19 on the shaft 18,

bull'wheel 17, in the spiral groove of which the cable 25 winds and unwinds, and the on which drums the skip cable 26 winds. When the skip is lowered a brake band or other braking device is applied to the brake drum 10, so as to permit the skip to descend of its own gravity. In these skip raising and lowering operations the bull wheel and winding drums are, of course, secured in position at the top of the mixer frame.

- by means of the clamp 28, which may be of WVhen it is desired to lower the bull wheel and winding drums and their support, the

cable 25, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, is secured to the periphery of the sector 15 any suitable form, but preferably has an open eye or collar through which the cable 25 passes and a clamp bolt 28 passmg through the shank thereof and pressing against the inside of the rim of the sector. In this manner the cable is fixed to the sector, so that it cannot slip but must move therewith. If,

mnowthe swinging arm 16 is released and caused to move forward beyond its center of gravity it will start to fall to theposition shown by dotted lines, carrying the shaft 18 with wheelsand drums thereon with it. This and supporting arm 16 may beperformed without disconnectmovement, however, is checked by the cable 25, which in turn is held by a brake band or other braking device applied to the drum 10. It is then only necessary to permit the cable 25 to unwind slowly and under the control of the brake to lower the arm 16 and the parts carried thereby to the lower dotted line position. In this movement the sector 15 swings upwardly as indicated by the dotted lines, and the portion of the cable below the clip 28 winds on its periphery; and it will be seen that the braking power is at all times applied by the cable to a point of the sectors periphery opposite the rock shaft 13 in a horizontal line. In this manner the braking and driving power are given at all times during the lowering and raising operation an advantageous leverage. Dotted lines indicate the position of the cable 25 at the beginning and the end of the lowering and raising movement. A groove 13' to receive the/cable is indicated by dotted lines. To raise the arm 16 and the parts carried thereby to upper operating position, power is applied to the drum 9 and the cable 25 is wound thereon, thus causing the sector 15 to rock back to its original, normal position; and after this the cable is released from the sector for use in the skip raising and lowering work.

It will be seen from the foregoing that with the present improvements the operation of lowering and raising the wheel with its shaft and winding drums and the oscillating ing any of the parts or disturbingtheir normal operative relations, except to the extent of clipping the cable. 28 to the sector, and that they'may be lowered and raised again to Working position with the greatest facility and safety. It will also be seen that. it is not necessary to lock or otherwise secure the wheel or the winding drums against rotation, as the maxlmum of such movement which they. may make is limited to that permitted.

by the slacking of the skip cable. In this operation, however, the skip cable 26 is slacked off, and the power required to raise the swinging structure is somewhat greater at certain'points than that required for ordinary skip raising work. It willalso be ap parent that greater braking poweris required than in the ordinary operation of lowering the skip. v

In order to secure an increase of power in the lowering and raising operation above described, and also toenable the operator to keep the cables taut, the modification of Fig. 2 is provided. vIn this modification pulley blocks 29 and 30 are utilized, the first or up: per one attached to the sectorby means of a rope or cable 31 and the second to an eye 32 in the base 1 by means of a short rope or cable 33. Thelpower rope or cable 34; has

one end attached to and adapted to wind on one end of the drum 9 and passes through the pulleys 29 and 30, with its opposite end se- ,cured to 29. This arrangementgives a three {to one increase in power, and a corresponding decrease in movement of the power cable attached to sector 15. In operation, the cable 34 is wound on the drum 9 to rock the sectorbackto normal position and raise the arm 16 and its carried parts, and is permitted to unwind on the drum to lower them.

In this operation the power cable 25 may be disconnected from the drum and secured to any part of the machine, as to the eye 35 in the base 1, so that when the arm 16 carrying the wheel 17 swings downwardly,it will lie in the groove 13 and" extend over the sector, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig; 2. But as the distance between the secured end of the cable 25 and portion which meets the groove of the wheel 17 is approximately the same in'both positions, the wheel will not rotate and the skip cable 26 will become slack. The slacking of the skip cable maybe prevented however by hauling in on the cable 25 when the winding drums are lowered, or otherwise causing rotation of these drums in skip cable winding direction, and if desired, the power cable may be wound on the wheel 17 and tied by a rope or-the like, as indicated at 37.

From the foregoing description it will be seenthat the improvements also include a novel method of lowering and raising the winding drums for the skip cable with their wheel and the swinging member on which they are mounted, through the instrumentality of the power drum and without the employment of other power or hand operated devices for that purpose.

They also include means for practicing this method in various ways, and the said means are not limited to any particular use. Thus, the sector or its equivalent is capable of being used without the special lowering andraising cable, and also without attaching the power cable thereto, it being necessary merely to release the swinging frame upon which the skip cable drums and winding wheel are mounted and permit it to swing outwardly and downwardly while applying braking means to the power drum. This will bring the power cable against the periphery of-the sector, while the sector is swinging upwardly, and cause it to retard the downward swing. IVhen the frame is to be raised it is only necessary to wind the power cable on its drum, thus causing the swinging parts to move back to normal position. To prevent the winding wheel from rotating freely the skip may be raised before the lowering operation begins so as to hold the skip cable taut. When this is done, the weight of the skip will move the swinging arm or frame off the top of the mixer frame, after they have been disconnected. I

movement of said sa d ,drum..

We claim: v

1. In combination with a concrete-mixer base and frame and a chargingvdevice'adapted to be raised and lowered, a power operated drum, a power cable connected with the drum and adapted't'o be wound'and unwound thereon to cause raising and'loweringl of the charging device, awinding-drum at the up-v per part of said frame adapted to be rotated by said power cable, a cable connected with said winding drum and the chargingdevice and adapted to be woundand. unwound on the former, a movable member on=wh1chsa1d winding drum 18 mounted, means for releasably securing said movable member and winding drum in upper operative position, and means for controlling the movements of said member and winding drum to a lower.

position and forreturningthemto upper operative positlon, comprising a member-hr fixed relation to said winding drum supporting member extending therefronnmea'ns for connecting said extend ng member with said power cable for operation by said power drum and brake means connected with saidpower drum for controlling the movement of said member in a-direction other than its power operated direction.

2. In combination with a concrete mixer base and frame, and a charging device adapt" I charging device, a winding drum at the up per part of said frame adaptedrtorberotated by said power cable,- a cable connected with said windin'gdrum and'the charging device and adapted to be wound and unwound on the former, a movable member on which said winding drum is mounted, means for releasably securing saidmovablemember and winding drum in upper operative position, and means for controlling the movements of said member and'winding drumzto a lower position and for returningthem lto upper operative position comprising a connection between said member and said power drum removed from said wlnding drumwhereby it may be moved in one direct-ionbythe op eration of said drum and brake means for controlling its movement in another direction. V V V 3. In the mechanism ofclaim 2, the connection between said'membe'r and the'powerdrum" comprising means for connecting the said power cable-with said member.

, 4:, In themech-anism of claim 2, the said connection between the said member andthe power drum comprising means connected with said member and with saidpower drum, and intermediate means for'increasing thepower of said drum and reducing the member -:with respect :to 5 g A, i I

5. In combination with a concrete mixer :baseand frame and a charging device adapted to be raised and lowered, apower operated drum, a power cable connected with the drum and adapted to be wound and unwiound thereonto cause raising and lowering of the charging device, a winding drum at the upper partof said framevadapted to be rotated by .said power cable, a cable connected with said winding drum andthe charging device and-adapted. to be wound and unwound on theiormer, amovable member ,on which said 1winding drum is mounted, means for releasably securing said movablememb'er and winding drum in-upper operative position,

and means for controlling the movements of "said member and, winding drum to a lower position and for returnlng them to'upper operative position without interfering with .the rotation of said windlng drum, comprising a separate connection between the power drum and said member and disconnected from the winding drum rotating connection between the winding drum and'the power drum. o. v 6-. 111 the mechanism of claim 2, the connection between said member and said power drum comprising a sector in fixed relation to saidmember having radii extending there from at different angles and a cable connected at the periphery of the sector and with the power drum and adapted to wind on said periphery and unwind therefromon the rotation of the power drum. I

.7. In a. device of the character described,

' the combination of a power operated cable winding drum, a pivoted arm mounted at a point removed from said drum, a cable com 7 cable is brought in contact with said member .a wheel connectedwith said power cable and;

drum and adapted to rotate the same, a movable member on the frame withwhich said wheel is mounted to moveto lower and upper positions, and means for controlling the lowering movement of and raising said member.

comprising a power cable engaging member connected with 'said movable member and adapted to move therewith and means for connecting a power cable therewith, said connecting means being outside the path of movement of said wheel. v

NVitness our hands this 7th day of July, 1930, county of Middlesex, State ofNew Jersey. v

JAMES E. BUSHYELL.

GEORGEWY. GRONK.

nection between said arm and said drum for raising and controlling the lowering of the former, a winding drum mounted on sald arm and adapted to moveto upper and lower. po-V I sitions therewith, a cable connection between said power drum and winding drum, and 1 means for connecting said last named cable connection at a point removed fromisaid power drum during the operation of the armby I said power drum.

1 8. In a device ofthe character described, a

- -power operated cable winding dru'1n,'a; piv- -,oted arm mounted at a'point removed from said drum, a winding wheel mounted on said arm, a fixed frame above which said winding 'wheel extends, said wheel being adapted to be lowered below the top of said frame by "the Epivotal movement of said arm, a cable connecting said drum and said wheel, and adapted to betwound and" unwound on both, power 66 means-for operating said drum in winding direction, and brake means for controlling its ,unwiriding movement, and a member extending from said arm toward the said cable and into the path of said cable when it is moved 1 65 in one direction by'the pivotal movement of said wheel'bodily with its arm, whereby the 

